This week's Linux and FOSS news:
LINUX NEWS
elementary OS 8 released with new Wayland session (called Secure session) with prompts to give programs certain permissions, new Dock, Flathub out-of-the-box, new quick settings, system updates via system settings, option to conceal text on screenshots:
https://news.itsfoss.com/elementary-os-8-release/
(The prompting for permission thing is pretty unique on Linux. I know some nerds will call it "phone approach" because mobile OSes do the same but I don't think it's necessarily bad. I'm personally satisfied with the regular approach to open Flatseal to control permissions after I download a program, but for many people the prompting approach is probably more efficient because they don't have to think about going to Flatseal first, yet they can still prevent some unnecessary access for programs.)
NixOS 24.11 released with GNOME 47, KDE Plasma 6.2, PipeWire by default, Nix 2.24 package manager, improved support for Darwin into Nixpkgs, support for LLVM 19 compiler etc.:
https://9to5linux.com/nixos-24-11-released-with-gnome-47-and-kde-plasma-6-2-pipewire-by-default
Armbian 24.11 released with support for OrangePi5 Max, Radxa ROCK 5B+ and many more devices:
https://9to5linux.com/armbian-24-11-released-with-support-for-orangepi-5-max-and-radxa-rock-5b
First UEFI bootkit for Linux, Bootkitty is discovered:
https://news.itsfoss.com/bootkitty-linux/
(Remember, no system is 100% secure, including Linux)
(It's currently a proof-of-concept but regardless it's better to be aware of it, update your system regularly, keep Secure Boot enabled if your distro supports it, to be protected against these type of attacks in the future.)
Cinnamon 6.4 released with new default theme, built-in Night Light feature, Power Profile options, updated applets etc.:
https://9to5linux.com/cinnamon-6-4-desktop-environment-released-with-revamped-theme-night-light
KDE Plasma 6.2.4 released with re-enabled HDR mode for NVIDIA 565 and Linux 6.11 users, various bug fixes, improvements:
https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-6-2-4-re-enables-hdr-mode-for-users-on-nvidia-565-and-linux-6-11
Ubuntu Touch OTA-7 released with PulseAudio security fixes:
https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-touch-ota-7-released-for-linux-phones-with-pulseaudio-security-fixes
(FOSS news in reply)